SFS Chapter 396 The Emperor and Empress Duel 4
Chapter 396 The Emperor and Empress Duel 4
"This servant has come here at midnight to see His Majesty."
Although Zhuxi said the words of greeting, her body did not move at all. She neither bowed nor bent down, but just stood there straight.
Seeing the newcomer, Yongzheng was startled: "Aunt Sun, why are you here?"
Zhuxi looked directly at Yongzheng, her gaze unwavering. She extended the carved brocade box in her hand, her voice steady, "I know there's been a major incident in the palace today. To spare His Majesty any worry, I've brought you the Empress Dowager's will."
When he heard the words "Empress Dowager's Last Will", a hint of surprise suddenly flashed in Yongzheng's eyes. He didn't expect that the Empress Dowager had something to leave for him.
His voice was low but he couldn't hide his excitement: "The Empress Dowager has a will?"
Zhu Xi nodded, her tone still calm: "This servant dare not deceive the emperor. After this servant reads the Empress Dowager's edict, Your Majesty can take a look at it. It is indeed written by the Empress Dowager herself."
"I will read the will later. I will depose this vicious woman first."
After things are settled, I will take a good look at the words that the Empress Dowager left for me.
Zhu Xi said firmly, "The Empress Dowager's will concerns today's matter. Your Majesty, please kneel and receive the Empress Dowager's will."
It was not until this time that Yongzheng suddenly realized that the appearance of this will was somewhat inappropriate, yet seemed just right.
He turned his head to look at the queen, only to see that her expression was cold, she was kneeling on the ground with her knees bent, but her back was still straight.
Yongzheng was silent for a moment, finally took a few steps forward and slowly knelt beside her.
Zhuxi unfolded the will and read the empress dowager's last words in a steady and clear voice.
As Yongzheng listened, his face gradually turned ashen, his hands clenched into fists, and an indescribable anger and disappointment surged in his heart.
Before her death, the Empress Dowager was still obsessed with the glory of the Ulanara family. She even left such a will to restrain herself, without caring about the mother-son relationship.
After Zhuxi finished reading, he reached out to take the will, lowered his head and glanced at it. The familiar handwriting came into view. It was indeed written by the Empress Dowager herself.
Zhu Xi said calmly, "Your Majesty governs the world with benevolence and filial piety, and cannot disregard the Empress Dowager's will. The reason I did not follow the Empress Dowager to the afterlife was because of this will."
Yongzheng slammed the edict shut, his voice filled with suppressed anger. "But the Ulanara family's crimes are unforgivable. I cannot disregard the people of the world and the country for the sake of the Empress Dowager. I hope that the Empress Dowager in her final resting place can appease her anger."
When the Empress Dowager was alive, Yongzheng still went against her wishes, let alone after she passed away.
Zhu Xi's tone remained calm, yet with a hint of pressure: "The Empress Dowager's will concerns the reputation of the royal family and the foundation of the harem, so it must be treated with caution. The Empress Dowager has devoted her entire life to worrying about the continuation of the royal family and the stability of the harem. In her final words, she is truly concerned about the affairs of the Empress and the harem. I hope that the Emperor will obey the Empress Dowager's will."
Yongzheng's expression was gloomy, and the anger he had suppressed for so long seemed to be about to burst out. He sneered and said, "I know the Empress Dowager's painstaking efforts! But what Ulanara has done in recent years is truly outrageous. She has murdered the heir to the throne, oppressed the concubines, and caused chaos in the harem. If such evil deeds are not punished, how can I explain to the world? As the Son of Heaven, if I tolerate this evil because of the Empress Dowager's will, how can I face the people of the world and govern this country? You don't need to say more, I have made up my mind."
After saying that, he threw the edict back into Zhuxi's hand.
Zhuxi listened quietly, and only spoke after he finished speaking: "Before her death, the Queen Mother said that if the Emperor insisted on deposing the Empress, I would like to ask the Emperor if he still remembers what Empress Chunyuan said as she lay on his knees before her death."
Upon hearing this, Yongzheng's body trembled, and he slowly closed his eyes. His voice unconsciously lowered, with a hint of reminiscence: "At that time, Chunyuan was already on the verge of death. She fell on my knees and told me that I was unlucky and could not spend my life with Silang. I couldn't even keep our child. I only have Yixiu as my sister. I hope that Silang will treat her well in the future and not abandon her."
"The Emperor personally promised Empress Chunyuan that he would never abandon her biological sister. The Emperor forgave the Empress today so that Empress Chunyuan's soul would not be disturbed. The Emperor despised the Empress and didn't even want to call her by her name, always claiming she was from the Ulanara clan. But Empress Chunyuan was also from the Ulanara clan, and the Empress Dowager was also from the Ulanara clan. Even the Emperor has Ulanara blood in his veins. The Empress Dowager's will stated that the Ulanara clan could not be deposed."
After Zhuxi finished speaking, he looked at Yongzheng intently.
Yongzheng came back to his senses and said, "Over the years, the Empress has done everything, and the Empress Dowager knows everything, right?"
Zhuxi stood there quietly, with his eyes lowered and his hands folded in front of him, without answering.
For a moment, the huge palace fell into deathly silence. Only the flames on the candlesticks swayed gently in the darkness, and from time to time, a "crackling" sound suddenly sounded in this oppressive silence, as if it was a ruthless mockery of fate, and seemed to add a suffocatingly tense footnote to this silent confrontation.
The answer is already obvious in this dead silence.
"She knows everything. Chun Yuan's death, everything the Queen did, she knows..."
Yongzheng's voice echoed in the hall. His eyes swept across Zhuxi and then across the empress kneeling on the ground. There was both anger and an indescribable sadness in his eyes.
The queen was still kneeling on the ground, her expression cold and her eyes frosty.
Yongzheng stood up, his voice devoid of emotion: "I, remembering your old kindness, have placed Ulanara in Jingren Palace. She cannot leave unless she is dead, Su Peisheng."
"The slave is here!"
"Go to Jingren Palace to retrieve the imperial edict, the imperial seal and the imperial book that appointed me as the queen, and inform the six palaces that she and I will never see each other again, whether we die or not." Yongzheng spoke each word clearly, and each word was squeezed out from between his teeth, revealing his determination and ruthlessness.
"According to the order!"
The queen smiled slightly upon hearing this, but there was no trace of fear in her eyes. She slowly stood up, straightened her clothes, and walked out of the hall with her head held high.
Her steps were steady and her back was straight, as if she was still the almighty queen who would never bow her head even in desperate situations.
"Your Majesty, I take my leave." Her voice was clear and resounding, each word resounding with force, echoing lingeringly in the empty hall. Her voice held both resentment for past affection and resentment for Yongzheng's coldness, as well as an unbending spirit. She sneered at this heartless emperor and his cannibalistic harem, offering a final sneer. "I've wasted my life, after all. I won't come back in my next life!"
After saying this, she turned and left, her steps firm and calm, without the slightest hesitation. Her figure gradually blurred in the light and shadow at the temple entrance, blending into the endless darkness.
At this moment, she was no longer the woman bound by power and rules, but a brave woman who dared to face her fate and resist. Her departure was not only a farewell to this ruthless emperor, but also a silent condemnation of this cannibalistic system.
The palace door slowly closed behind her with a dull sound. The sound seemed like the death knell of fate, putting a tragic end to her career as queen.
The Queen's figure gradually disappeared behind the heavy door, leaving behind only a dead silent palace and Yongzheng, who was filled with anger, sadness and exhaustion, facing this stormy situation in the royal family alone, leaving only this empty hall, witnessing the end of this love-hate relationship.
(Emma, I was terrified to post the two chapters today, afraid that my fellow readers would say that my values were not right and that I had overly glorified the Queen. But I really wanted to write about the Queen's other side. I was very entangled in writing these chapters, and my mouth was full of blisters. And today I received two low-scoring negative reviews in a row. I'm really numb...)